Issue of the Week: Politicizing the Department of Justice

Plus Heroes and Jerks of the Week

In the spirit of former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is
under investigation for politicizing the Department of Justice, J.B.
Van Hollen may be using our state attorney general’s office for
partisan political shenanigans. The Republican Party has spent the last
several years unsuccessfully trying to find evidence of coordinated
voter fraud in Wisconsin, and especially in Milwaukee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for southeastern Wisconsin and the Milwaukee
County District Attorney’s Office have found no evidence of coordinated
voter fraud. Now Van Hollen has a new trick. He filed a lawsuit to
force the Government Accountability Board (GAB) to run ID checks on new
voter registrations dating back to January 2006 rather than the Aug. 6
date that the GAB proposed. This will cause massive confusion at the
polling areas and end up discouraging many people from voting.

The
question is whether Van Hollen was coordinating with the Republican
Party about this lawsuit. Van Hollen denies any contact with GOP
officials about this suit, yet at the Republican National Convention
Van Hollen discussed this issue while addressing the Wisconsin
delegation and told the delegates that they would be hearing more about
it from the state Department of Justice (DOJ). In addition to these
statements at the convention, it has been revealed that the state DOJ
and GOP attorneys conferred about this suit before it was filed. Has
Van Hollen stooped to the level of Alberto Gonzales and politicized the
Wisconsin Department of Justice?

Hero of the Week:Len Zubrensky

Len Zubrensky is truly a hero for being one of the leading progressives in Wisconsin for more than 50 years.

Zubrensky will discuss his political autobiography, Let the Hi-Jinks Begin: The Memoir of a Democratic Activist, at
the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Shorewood at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct.
14. Don’t miss it. He’s a great storyteller and his life provides many
great stories. He was legal counsel to Gov. John Reynolds, campaign
manager for Bill Proxmire when he ran for governor in 1952, and a major
player in the open-housing struggles in Milwaukee. Wisconsin needs more Len Zubrenskys.

Jerk of the Week: Rep. Jeff Stone

After
failing to build a case for voter fraud in Milwaukee, Rep. Jeff Stone
has developed a new tack to thwart the democratic process. The
Greendale Republican, an apparent believer in “free-speech zones,” is
devoting his energies to blocking street theater performances at urban
polling places. The nonpartisan pieces by My Vote Performs, sanctioned
by the Government Accountability Board, are intended to celebrate
voting as an act of citizenship and encourage more people to vote. With
the electorate moving steadily toward Obama, Stone’s actions clearly
reveal him as a pawn in statewide Republican efforts to discourage
voter participation.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Frank
Busalacchi’s trial balloon about tearing down the Hoan Bridge is an
idea that—if it were any dumber—would bark! The fact that Busalacchi
has just blown $175,000 in taxpayer money for a “study” designed to
justify the plan doesn’t make it any better. It
simply makes Busalacchi look even more irresponsible.

This new “study”
produced by a consulting outfit called HNTB and commissioned by the DOT
at a cost of $175,000 (!) claims that tearing down the Hoan Bridge
would lead to $5.7 billion in development on land under the Hoan and
the creation of over 8,000 jobs. Right—and I promise that I’ll love you
in the morning.

By
the way, HNTB executives are enormous campaign contributors to Jim
Doyle. I’m certain though that any link between these contributions and
the fact that Busalacchi chose HNTB to be the beneficiary of $175,000
in taxpayer largess was purely coincidental. By the way, did I remember
to tell you that I promise to love you in the morning?

The basic idea
is that if you tear down the Hoan Bridge and install streets,
commercial and residential development will flock to the area under the
bridge. This is the same area that is, of course, in the immediate
proximity of Milwaukee’s sewage treatment plant. Forgive me if I’m
somewhat skeptical about the number of people wanting to purchase
$500,000 condos in the shadow of Jones Island.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“I
think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get
that gas pipeline built. So pray for that… I can do my job there in
developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn’t do any good if
the people of Alaska’s heart is not good with God.” —Sarah Palin, addressing the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in 2008.

I believe there have been at least 50 arrests made in the last 3 months involving ACORN employees who tried to register voters that don't exist. How is that not evidence of mass fraud? For those that don't know, ACORN is a left leaning organization that also had a hand in Obama's rise in politics.

Poll

A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission panel upheld the firing of former Milwaukee Police officer Christopher Manney for violating department rules last April when he encountered Dontre Hamilton before fatally shooting him. Do you agree with the commission’s decision?